The Purchase & Repair programme delivers fully renovated family homes through Notting Hill Genesis’ SimpliCity initiative. SimpliCity provides homes at discounted rents to working households who are priced out of the housing market, but are unable to access social or shared ownership housing. It offers a more secure and affordable alternative for families than standard private rented accommodation. These homes are fully funded by internal resources from Notting Hill Genesis.
The P&R programme operates in specific outer London boroughs that offer both good value and strong demand. Our project managers identify suitable homes for sale on the open market: typically three-bedroom family houses with back gardens, in sound condition but in need of significant refurbishment. Notting Hill Genesis purchases the property and commissions the works using consultants and contractors from our experienced and reliable P&R framework. Works generally include a new kitchen and bathroom, flooring, full decoration and A-rated white goods. The refurbishment standard is highly praised by tenants. Since its inception in 2013 the P&R programme has delivered more than 1,000 family homes for low-income Londoners.
New P&R initiatives
In 2021-22 we expanded the P&R programme to include 100 units as “Homes for Heroes”, to be offered to essential workers in London. The Homes for Heroes programme aims to show gratitude to essential workers who have contributed and sacrificed so much during the COVID-19 crisis, by providing good quality and affordable homes as part of our established SimpliCity product.
In another response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the P&R team launched a Rough Sleeper Accommodation Programme which is partly funded by the Greater London Authority. The team purchases one-bedroom flats in east and south London and renovates them to the SimpliCity standard, then hands them over to our colleagues in Supported Housing so they can be let to rough sleepers seeking more permanent accommodation. Our redevelopment team is also supporting the programme, via an RSAP grant which enables the conversion of two houses into eight units of accommodation for rough sleepers.
The team's most recent initiative is an Afghan Refugee Housing project to provide 13 homes in east and south London to help resettle families arriving from Afghanistan. Utilising the SimpliCity model, the homes are street properties in residential areas close to shops and transport links, which have been purchased on the open market and fully refurbished. NHG will be working with local authorities, the Home Office and other stakeholders to help the families settle in and provide support for them to integrate into the community.